Grades 9-12 Lesson Plan - Debating the Transcontinental Railroad

Map 11 Main Page

Core Map: "Rand, McNally & Co.'s United States" in Rand McNally & Co.'s Business Atlas, (Chicago: Rand McNally, 1878). Newberry Library Call No.: Rand McNally Collection, Atlas Collection, Commercial Atlas 1878 (Printable PDF version of the Core Map)

Resources related to Map 11.
Curator's Notes for Map 11.

Overview
During the 1850s, most American politicians were in favor of the construction of a transcontinental railroad, but they disagreed about where it should be built. In this lesson, students will research the contemporary arguments made in favor of the construction of a northern, central, and southern railroad, and acting as US senators, present their arguments in a mock Senate debate.

Objectives
By the end of this lesson students are expected to:

1. Identify the major transcontinental railroad routes planned in the 1850s and subsequently constructed.
2. Identify and weigh the relative importance of the major geographic, economic, and political factors that influenced transcontinental railroad construction. time.

Key Terms
transcontinental railroad, sectionalism

Materials
computer image or overhead of the core map, modern classroom map of the United States, history textbook, map of the existing rail network of 1857, three maps proposing transcontinental rail routes (see Resources)

Time
Three hours, plus research time

Getting Started

1. Discuss with students the origin and maker of the core map (see Curator's Notes).

2. Identify the symbols the Rand, McNally company has used for the following geographic features: the railroad, state borders, rivers, lakes, the ocean, and mountains.

3. Point to and discuss briefly the following place names: if the students' state was in the Union by 1878 point out its location, its capital, the nearest city with a rail line, Indian Territory, New York, Chicago, Seattle, the Great Lakes, the Mississippi River, British Possessions, and others at the teacher's discretion.

4. Point out and discuss the railroads and the patterns formed by the railroad network.

5. Discuss the purposes of and information given by the non-geographic features and aids on the map, including the grid lines and the text.

6. Compare the area covered by the Core Map briefly (for purposes of orientation) with the same areas on a modern U.S. map.

7. Discuss what is not on the map.

Developing the Lesson

1. Explain to the class that they are to imagine that it is 1858. Most of the membership of the U.S. Senate is in agreement that a transcontinental railroad to improve communication and transportation between the Pacific coast and the Eastern United States, to assist settlement of the West, and to enhance military control of the region. However, the Senate is seriously divided about which of three proposed routes from the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean should be constructed first. This debate has been raging for several years. It has inspired a massive military survey of possible routes and has heightened tensions between the North and the South, which of course have favored the northern and southern routes, respectively. Now it is time to resolve the question once and for all.

2. By lottery assign each student to be one of two senators from one of the states then in existence (see list below). Depending on the size of your class it may be necessary to assign two students to be senators from a single state.

3. Using the core map, the supplemental maps and documents supplied with this unit, plus library and Internet resources, assign each student-senator to prepare a 5-10 page brief in support of one of the three proposed transcontinental lines. Based on their research, students should attempt to be historically accurate in their depictions of the positions taken by senators from a given state. (That is, they should keep in mind, for example, that southern states would benefit most from a southern route, northern states from a northern route, and middle states, such as Missouri and Kentucky would benefit most from a middle route. Western states, such as Missouri, Arkansas, Texas, Wisconsin, and Illinois, were more likely to be passionate about the final selection of the route than eastern states, but most states favored proposals in accordance with sectional-Northern vs Southern-loyalties.) You may assume that the proposed lines are approximately the three main transcontinental lines existing on the core map (viewable by clicking the "Transcontinental Lines" menu option). You may also direct students to make use of other maps showing proposed routes and maps of the existing rail network (see Resources). The briefs may consider any factors they wish that might support construction of one line over another, but should, at a minimum, consider the following:
   • Costs and difficulty of construction (considering the length and topographical barriers faced by each line
   • The proximity of each line to existing population centers, railroads (see the supplemental map of 1856), and other means of transportation
   • The proximity of each line to natural resources and to existing or potential agricultural regions
   • Military and political considerations

4. When the briefs have been completed, conduct a debate in a mock U.S. Senate, in which each student defends his or her position in a brief (five-minute) speech.

5. Review the actual decision reached by Congress, discussing the factors that influenced that decision, including the intervention of the Civil War.

States in Existence in 1856

Alabama	Louisiana	Ohio
Arkansas	Maine	Pennsylvania
California	Maryland	Rhode Island
Connecticut	Massachusetts	South Carolina
Delaware	Michigan	Tennessee
Florida	Mississippi	Texas
Georgia	Missouri	Vermont
Illinois	New Hampshire	Virginia
Indiana	New Jersey	Wisconsin
Iowa	New York
Kentucky	North Carolina

Evaluation
Using a 1-4 scale (4=excellent, 3=well done, 2=satidfactory, 1=poor) assess student performance as follows:

For 4 points, the student goes beyond the assignment; i.e. he or she has synthesized more information than expected, or has shown particularly incisive analysis. The student has addressed each of the four types of considerations listed above. The student's presentation in the debate is polished and well-argued.

For 3 points, the student does all that was asked for in the assignment in a thorough manner. The student has addressed each of the four types of considerations listed above. The analysis is sound and the presentation is loud enough for all in the room to hear it comfortably.

For 2 points, the student does most of what was asked for in the assignment in an acceptable manner. The student has addressed at least three of the four types of considerations listed above. The analysis is sound with only minor flaws, if any; it is supported at least in part by specific examples; and it is organized well enough so that one is able to follow the presentation. The work is, for the most part, correct and neat, and may exhibit some spelling or grammatical errors. The oral presentation will be loud enough for all in the room to hear it comfortably.

For 1 point, the student does not do what the assignment asked. He or she produces work that exhibits major flaws in analysis, or that includes little or no specific examples/data, or that is so disorganized as to make it difficult to follow, or that is full of errors.

Extension
Hold the debate as if it were happening in 1864-that is, without the states that had succeeded from the union (and with the addition of Oregon, Minnesota, and West Virginia).